A Warrior's Fall
by UniverseClassLegend
Summary: The darkest of stories has finally happened. It wasn't supposed to be like this. A hero has been framed. Friends in sorrow. But it is all true. Jaune Arc...…. is dead. (Warning: If you are a HUGE Arkos fan, DO NOT READ! Your heart will be more broken than it already is. This is also a sequel to The Final Battle.)
1. Arkos Destroyed

The village was burning and in ruins. The Grimm forces had retreated. But all had been seemed lost. It was too late. The damage was done. The white-red haired girl was on her knees. The pink girl and green man near her were in utter shock. At the silver-eyed girl's knees, a blonde boy laid. Stabbed through the chest, his weapon, Crocea Mors, shattered to pieces. The shield was all that was left. Mei couldn't deny it no longer…..

Jaune Arc… was dead.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Mei cried out in sadness, beams of light shooting out of her eyes. As her wails echoed throughout the land, the only thing Nora and Lie could do was hug each other yet failing to comfort the other. There was nothing they could do as the body faded into dust.

How did it all come crashing down like this?

…

 **A few hours earlier**

"Ruby, please!" He begged, fighting for his life. "You've got to stop! This isn't you!"

The hooded woman said no word, as she continued the assault. Grimm were everywhere, but he had no time to fight them. This was possibly his last stand. With Crescent Rose, somehow not destroyed, Ruby knocked the shield out of his grasp.

"Fight back!" Arc yelled. "Control yourself! You can't do this! Resist whatever's telling you to do this!"

She did not heed his warning. As he swung the blade, it met the scythe….

And shattered into a billion pieces.

He had no time to react over the hand-me-down's destruction. The next thing he felt was a bullet to the shoulder.

"AAAAAGGGGHHHH!" He cried in pain. He was bleeding. On his knees, there was nothing he could do as his former friend walked up to him, ready to deal the final blow. He took one last look into her eyes, as if pleading silently not to do this.

"I'm sorry, Pyrrha." He said, tears in his eyes. "I'm so sorry…." Then, he realized something.

Ruby's eyes….

They weren't….

SHUNK!

"!..."

He looked at his heart, the sickle blade lodged in deep. As she pulled it out, Jaune fell onto his back. His vision slowly faded away.

And just like that…..

 _It was all over._

Ruby stood motionless as the Grimm fled, not attacking her. She then spoke, strangely in a voice not her own.

"One less ranger." She smiled an evil grin.

The woman, clearly not Ruby Rose at all, walked away, the fires reflecting in her blood-red eyes.

…

All she was doing was running an errand for her mother. That's when Mei met up with Nora and Lie. Late on, Mei met a little boy. Upon seeing her, his eyes wet wide with fear, then sadness.

"Why?" He whispered. "Why did your mom do it?" Mei was puzzled.

"What did she do?"

"She… she….." He began to cry. "Everyone trusted her. Even me. But then…. She attacked a nearby village. Murdered everyone. Even…" He just couldn't say the name. "He was my hero… my idol… and now he's gone…." Unable to take much more, the boy ran off, crying. Mei was unsure of what he said. But later, that's when she, Nora, and Ren saw it.

"No."

The village the boy had spoken of. The flames still burnt. As the three, checked for survivors, Mei saw one body that made her blood run cold.

"No…" She whispered. She ran up to Jaune's body. There was a massive wound on his chest. One only a scythe could make. Even if he was still alive, there was no way he could make it.

"Please….." Mei began to tear up. "Don't leave me…"

But even she was helpless as the body began to fade away into dust. Just like Nikos.

She…. She couldn't take it anymore. Nora gasped and covered her mouth with both hands. Lie was wide-eyed.

"I….I'm sorry." He whispered to both of them. "There's nothing we can do."

When the last of the dust faded away, Mei screamed in agony. Lights shot out of her silver-eyes.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Mei began to cry like she had never cried before. The beams reached so far upward, someone far away could see the silver snakes. Her wails echoed throughout the lands, as if demanding all of Remnant to cry as well. How would her family react to this?

How would they accept the fact that Arkos was truly dead?


	2. Broken

**Belladonna Xiao Long Residence**

Li was out training in the front yard. Her mothers were on a date, so she was in charge that making sure her twin younger brothers, Solar and Shadow, didn't get into any trouble. She was currently testing out her gauntlets, Gen Break, when she was visited by an unexpected guest.

"AH?!" Li yelled in surprise. "Aunt Ruby?!" The Human-Faunus Hybrid was confused. Ruby didn't say she would come over. "S-Sorry, but your sister isn't here for the time being." She said nervously. "Maybe you can come back later and-."

That's when her Faunus senses kicked in. Something wasn't right. She realized what was about to happen.

"Wait a minute…." She pondered. "You….You're not Aunt Ruby! You're a…. COPY!"

The intruder threw off her hood, revealing her red eyes. This confirmed Li's suspicion. Ruby's eyes were never red, and she only had one eye!

"You're right." Fake Ruby taunted. "I'm not her. Now, I shall make her sibling regret leaving you vulnerable!" She pulled out her own version of Crescent Rose, surprisingly looking just like the original, and charged.

 _Vulnerable?_ Li thought as she blocked the strike. _Oh, she just made a big mistake!_

The copy began to viciously attack the 1/4th Feline as she did her best to defend herself.

 _Damn it!_ Li thought. _She's just as strong as the real Ruby! I can't let her get to my brothers!_

She began to retaliate, punching with all her might against the copy. She even caught a bullet of Ice Dust and crushed it.

"So, let me guess." Li smirked. "Since you don't have silver eyes, the power Ruby possesses is forever beyond your reach."

This only infuriated Fake Ruby, as she began to attack again and again. Gauntlet collided with scythe, and Li used her instincts to sense any incoming danger.

 _Crap! I gotta end this now!_ Li thought. If Solar and Shadow heard the commotion and went to investigate, Fake Ruby could easily kill them! Good thing they were sleeping.

Li began to charge up her Semblance. Upon the contact on Gen Break, she became stronger, just like her blonde mother, complete with the gold hair and red eyes.

 _Thanks, Yang._ The ½ Faunus thought. _This better work._ With unrelenting fury, she began to pummel the imposter. Soon, Semblance began to counter Semblance, as Fake Ruby used the speed to her advantage.

 _Gah! She's as fast as the real deal, too!_ Li began to focus relying on her senses to detect the red streak. Fake Ruby appeared behind her, and prepared to kill her, Grimm Reaper style.

 _There you are._

The Half-Faunus turned around and hit Fake Ruby square in the stomach! The imposter coughed up blood as she fell.

"Damn you…." The copy growled. "This isn't over….."

Fake Ruby then became a red streak again as she fled. Panting, Li reverted back to her normal self.

 _That was too close._ She thought. _I am SO glad that Solar and Shadow didn't see-._ As she turned around, her heart sank. _Oh shit._

The twins were staring wide-eyed at her. Solar's yellow feline tail was almost between his legs, and Shadow's black cat ears were standing straight up.

"That…"

"Was…"

"AWESOME!" The twins yelled. "Best training session ever!"

Li breathed a sigh of relief. Good. They didn't know she was fighting a copy.

"Hey Sis, wanna fight me?" Solar asked excitedly. "I wanna see if my eyes can turn red and if I can fight like a superhero!"

"Yeah!" Shadow said. "And I wanna see if my hair can turn yellow if I scream at the top of my lungs like that!"

"Um, sorry, but no." Li said, taking off Gen Break. "Why don't you boys get something to eat? You moms will be back soon. Last I checked, it'll rain soon."

The boys responded with a sad "awwwww….". As Li got inside, Shadow asked her something.

"So, how's your girlfriend?" He asked.

Angrily, Li punched the air and came to a halt when her fist was inches from his face, making him flinch.

"STOP SAYING THAT MEI IS MY GIRLFRIEND!" She roared. "I swear, if you say that to her, I am gonna break your nose!"

With a little bit of fear in their eyes, the boys ran upstairs. As her mothers came home, clouds began to form. Li sighed.

 _Speaking of Mei,_ The Quarter Feline thought. _I wonder if she's pretty sad that her training's canceled due to the rain. She must be crying her eyes out._

…

 **Schnee Rose Residence**

The rain and thunder hammered the earth as if was dying of thirst. Mei knew the world was now crying. Tears flooded her own eyes, as she walked the long way home with all that was left of Jaune Arc: His shield. A large crack was down the middle, as if it was nearly torn apart. Blood also blotted out the sun on it. HIS blood. She was flooded with thoughts. About how her family would react. Mei felt like she should just stop dead in her tracks and throw Blass Horizon into herself.

But she couldn't.

She didn't want her mother to lose anyone else. Miles behind her, lightning scorched the ground. Mei walked up to the front door. She knocked. Just once. The door opened, and her mother, Ruby Rose, was confused about why she was back so early.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Ruby asked. Mei hadn't completed the errand. All she had was Jaune's shield. Mei then looked up at her mother, silver waters drowning her vision.

"I'm sorry…." She whispered. She dropped the shield, let it clatter to the floor, and hugged her mother harder than ever before.

"I'm so sorry….."

Ruby wanted to ask, but when she saw the crack and blood on the shield, the awful truth hit her.

She would never see another one of her best friends ever again.

Both mother and daughter wailed out in sadness, the cries muted by the loud thunder that boomed nearby. Ruby hugged her daughter, tears flowing out of her only eye.

It was not enough.

As Mei was brought inside, heavily wet from the massive downpour, the rest of the family arrived, having heard the cries.

When Rudolph and Winifred asked their sister what happened, while Wiess tried to comfort her true love, all Mei could say was three words that made them shocked.

"Jaune….. is gone."

The sorrow was so much for Rudolph, he fainted from the shock. Winifred summoned whatever courage he had to speak.

"Who or what killed him?" He asked.

Remembering the massive wound, Mei pointed a shaky finger at her own red mother. Ruby went wide with shock.

"NO!" She cried. "I WOULD NEVER KILL HIM! I WOULD NEVER EVER DO SUCH A THING! I…I….BWAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA!" Ruby continued to bawl.

 _Poor Ruby._ Weiss thought, fighting to hold back the flood within. _She hasn't cried this much ever since her mom died._

"It….. it wasn't her." Winifred said in disbelief.

"You're right…" Mei sobbed. "It was….. someone posing as her."

It wasn't long, but eventually, the news got out to the rest of the family. Mei said that those who truly knew Ruby thought she had betrayed them. She was framed. When the storm cleared up, Team RWBY and their kids had gotten the news. By the time Ruby's imposter was mentioned, Li decided to speak up.

"She tried to kill me, too." She said. "She looked just like her, but she had two eyes. And they were blood-red."

"WHAAAAAAATTTTTTT?!" Solar and Shadow were shocked beyond measure. "But…. I thought that was just training!" Solar said.

"You were in danger!" Li snapped. "Be serious, just for a few minutes!"

 _This really IS serious._ Rudolph thought. _Those two haven't mentioned Li and my sister being a thing. Is that even true?_

"Where is she?" Ruby weakly asked.

"Your doppelganger?" Li responded. "I…. have no idea." When Ruby looked up, her eyes were burning with a rage no one had ever seen before.

"She and I have unfinished business….." Ruby growled.

"How do you plan on going after her?" Winifred asked. "Mei said that your Crescent Rose was destroyed in your battle with that Cinder lady."

"That won't stop me…." Ruby hissed. "Nothing will. I've lost too much already. I have to stop her. Before she kills anyone else I know and love." And with that, Ruby stormed off. Her vengeance would happen tonight. She and Mei would hunt that murderer down. Before more of her family would be lost.


	3. Vengeance To Dust

**That night**

Ruby had gotten out of bed, with her wife and sons still asleep. She and Mei had secretly gotten ready. Ruby had even prepared a new weapon of her own. Pulling of a tarp, she picked up a giant red bow, the edges bladed like the previous weapon she lost. She had also made many arrows, along with the bow itself. She had, after all, trained herself in archery. This weapon would be born as a vessel of vengeance, and later use that power in future battles.

The Rage of a Rose.

Crimson Edge.

"This is it." Ruby said to Mei. "Are you ready?"

"I sure as hell am." Mei said. The sooner they stopped that imposter, the better. They went out into the snowy night, ready to hunt and destroy.

…

 **Emerald Forest**

Along the way, Ruby made a quick stop at her mother's grave. She possibly knew that now Jaune was dead alongside Pyrrha.

"Mom…" Ruby whispered. "Please take care of Jaune and Pyrrha for me. They….. meant so much to me." She then placed the circlet and shield next to the grave. There, it marked the resting place of three of those who knew Ruby well. In the distance, Mei called out to her.

"I'm doing this so that my own family won't perish." Ruby finished. "I'll see you again, soon." She then left to join her daughter.

It was later in the trek when they found their target. Fake Ruby had been waiting for them.

"You…" Fake Ruby growled. Apparently, she had a grudge with Ruby. The real one, however, was beyond words.

"I saw the aftermath of what you did!" Mei screamed. "You killed my mom's best friend and used her name to do it!"

"He was a weakling!" Fake Ruby snapped back. "His death was eventual. I did him a favor!"

"What are you talking about?!" Mei snapped.

"He loved her." Fake Ruby said. "And then Pyrrha Nikos was taken from him. He couldn't move on! Even after Cinder died, his grief continued. I had to reunite him with his beloved! I had to kill Jaune Arc! If I could bring Pyrrha back, I could do it! But you can't bring back what is gone. He couldn't live without her! He died when she did! Now, Arkos is back together again. And if you can't see that…."

Fake Ruby's eyes lit up with anger, as the real Ruby did the same.

"YOU BOTH DESERVE TO DIE!"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!"

Mei could only stand idle as both Rubies began their duel to the death. Ruby's bastardization sliced arrows with her scythe, and even knocked others out with Dust Bullets. The battle became more and more intense. Ruby even resorted to melee combat with the blades at the edges of Crimson Edge. The bow collided with the scythe, as the two began to get even more aggressive.

Ruby was even knocked down, but got up, her heart burning in rage.

"You….." She snarled. "You…. You took my body. You took my name…. You used it to do terrible things that I would never EVER do!" Ruby became more and more angry as a silver aura surrounded her. Everything came back to her. The deaths of those she knew. Summer Rose. Penny. Yang losing her arm. Pyrrha. Weiss almost dying. And now, Jaune Arc was dead too.

"YOU BASTAAAAARRRRRRDDDD!" Ruby screamed, silver energy exploding from her.

"You killed Jaune….. you killed millions! You even tried to kill my niece! I'm really pissed now! I'm furious! Mad! I'm really, REALLY mad! I….. will never forgive you! NEVER! I don't even give a damn if you say that you had to reunite him with her! You're gonna die….."

Ruby's eye began to glow.

"I…I…..I WILL MAKE YOU PAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYY!"

Ruby unleashed her wrath, along with the true power of her silver eyes once more.

"RRRRRRYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

This time, Mei attacked. Blass Horizon clashed with Fake Crescent Rose, but the girl was kicked away. Then, she too, unleashed her true power. Now, Ruby was really pissed. When Mei attacked again, she slashed Fake Ruby's weapon in half, then retreated. Then, she allowed her mother to deal the final blow!

"DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" Ruby stabbed Fake Ruby right through the heart! And with that, Fake Ruby fell, dead.

Panting, mother and daughter returned to their basic forms. They smiled.

"It's over." Mei smiled.

"Yes." Ruby smiled back. "Jaune has been avenged."

But just as they were about to hug, a fist slammed down in rage.

"Huh?"

"?!"

Fake Ruby began to pant heavily and angrily. She began to get up. With a scream of rage, she pulled Crimson Edge out of her chest! Bleeding heavily, Fake Ruby looked at the two, with an anger she never felt before.

"RUUUUBYYYYYYYY!" She screamed. She then thrusted her arms outward, the screaming continuing.

"YYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

As she screamed, a dark aura surrounded her. Pieces of her skin began to fly off, revealing a black layer underneath. She screamed at the top of her lungs, dark energy surrounding her. When the smoke cleared, Ruby and Mei gasped.

Fake Ruby…. wasn't human at all!

She was…. _a Grimm!_ A HUMAN Grimm!

Before the two could react, Grimm Ruby stretched out her arms, grabbing the two by their necks and pinning them to the stone wall! Mei had dropped Blass Horizon, and there was nothing she could do as she and Ruby screamed, their life forces being drained out of them!

 **"** **That's right."** Grimm Ruby snarled. **"You thought you had gotten rid of ALL the Grimm?! Well, you were wrong! My true name is Dust, your source of power that will be your own destruction! I am a Grimm you have never seen before: A Reaper! After you had killed Salem, I vowed revenge! You will never get yours, Ruby Rose! NEVER! No one is coming to save you! You and your weakling daughter will both die here! And don't even try to blind me with your stupid eyes! Most Grimm fear the silver, but I DON'T!"**

As she continued to drain the very life from the two, Ruby began to regret her quest for vengeance.

She realized too late that, even though revenge was sweet, the consequences were sour.

…

 **Schnee Rose Residence, minutes earlier**

When Weiss woke up, the first thing she saw was that Ruby wasn't beside her. Normally, she would've guessed that she had gone downstairs to get something to eat or she really had to go. But in mournful times like this, the heiress was worried that she had gone to do something far worse. It was still night, but she still couldn't sleep.

Ever since Jaune died, Weiss had always feared that Ruby would play the hero and do something stupid. As she got dressed and left her room, she looked into the bedroom of Rudolph and Winifred. They were still asleep. As she left them to their dreams, she headed downstairs. As she prepared a new sword weapon she had made, Polar Blade, Weiss wondered if she should leave a note for her sons.

 _Nah._ She thought. _I plan to at least be back by dawn or morning._ She was silent. _Ah, what the hell, just in case._

After she had written it down and left it on the kitchen table, Weiss then left to find Ruby and Mei, and to get them out of any trouble they got into. She hurried as well, thinking whatever they were doing could be their end.

…

 **Emerald Forest, present day**

The pain grew and grew, as Ruby and Mei became weaker and weaker. Dust smiled evilly as she became even more stronger.

 **"** **Goodbye, mother and daughter."** Dust cackled. However, just as she was about to drain the last of their life….

She noticed ice materializing in her arms.

 **"** **WHAT?!"**

In the blink of an eye, a white streak slashed the frozen arms to bits in a single strike. Dropping down to the ground, both Ruby and Mei gasped for breath.

 **"** **How did-?"** Dust said in surprise. As she began to regrow her arms, she turned to the streak.

"Haaah….. huuuhhh…. *gasp*…." Ruby panted. Then, she too, along with Mei, saw their savior.

"M-Mother?" Mei gasped, still gulping up all the air around her. Weiss was different somehow. She had armor covering her arms and hands, a blue combat skirt, along with a new sword. The blue-eyed woman pointed her weapon at the Reaper.

"You mess with my family…" She hissed. "You mess with me!"

Weiss then charged at Dust, Polar Blade in hand. The Reaper conjured a sword of her own and began to duel the heiress. Blade clashed against blade, and ice against darkness.

Once they recovered, Ruby and Mei recovered their own weapons and rejoined the fray. Dust, however, proved to be strong enough to take on three warriors. She tricked Mei's and Weiss's swords into clashing against each other and flipped Ruby when she kicked.

The White Rose family had enough of this. They had to stop this creature! Weiss froze Dust's legs in place, and when the Reaper tried to attack, Mei cut off the arms, and for the final blow, Ruby shot an arrow at the head so hard that Dust was decapitated!

The Reaper's entire body disintegrated into nothingness, indicating that she was gone.

Jaune Arc had been avenged.

Mei breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's finally done." She sighed.

"WEISSIMSOGLADYOUCAMETOSAVEUSWHOKNEWWHATWOULDHAPPENIFWELETTHATMONSTER-OW!" Ruby was yelling in excitement at her wife when the heiress smacked her across the check.

"YOU DOLT!" Weiss screamed. "What were you thinking! You could've died!"

"S-sorry…" Ruby stammered. "It's just that…. she was a bad person… and she had to…." Her true love sighed.

"Come on, let's go home." Weiss smiled. "I plan to get home before morning and when the boys wake up."

With a happy smile on her face, Ruby and the rest of her family began the trek home.


	4. A Happy Ending?

**Schnee Rose Residence, the next morning**

When Rudolph and Winifred woke up, the first thing they noticed was that they were alone.

"Mom? Mei? Hello? Anyone?" Rudolph asked.

 _Ok, Winifred, don't panic. Huntsmen don't give into fear._ Winifred thought.

When the twins went into the kitchen, they found the note their mother left.

"Kids," Winifred read. "Once again, I'm sorry for the loss you and I have both suffered. But even so, your other mom and sister went to play a dangerous game of hero. So I have no choice but to get them out of this death trap. I'll try to at least be back by morning. Love, Mother."

Just as he was about to put the note down, he noticed something else written on it.

"P.S, Don't do anything stupid or you'll both be grounded until you're 7!"

 _Ouch. Sometimes she can be harsh._ The white-haired boy thought.

"Well, it's morning now!" Rudolph said, having read the note over his brother's shoulder. "Shouldn't she be back by now?!"

His question was soon answered, as his mothers and sister came back home. Happily, Ruby hugged her sons.

"It's okay." She shushed them, even though they weren't even crying. "The evil woman is gone now. She can't hurt you anymore."

Now that Dust was gone for good, Ruby and Weiss could happily live as a family again. With the future even brighter than ever, who knew what new adventures awaited?

…

 **?**

The streaks of blackness retreated unseen into the darkest depths, untraveled regions of Remnant. Once they had gathered, Dust reemerged, smiling.

 **"** **They really thought they could kill me?"** She asked herself. **"Pathetic worms! They can tear me to bits again and again, but I will always come back stronger than ever!"**

She then turned to an unknown figure. It seemed masculine, had a tail, Grimm-like features, and purple glowing hair.

 **"** **Soon, this world, like all world, will be ours."**

The figure turned, revealing a face that was not of this world, yet at the same time, it was.

 **"** **My king."**


End file.
